Outnumbered: 1 v. 2+
- If facing multiple enemy ships, dispatching them with a single conclusive alpha strike (if possible) or a series of "hit-and-run conclusive alpha strikes" (when there are more than two enemy ships) can "even the odds" back to a 1-v-1 situation or a more-favorable outnumbered combat situation
- When facing multiple ships, none of which can be dispatched in a single alpha strike, look for opportunities to separate one or a few ships from the others and engage them in a more favorable numerical matchup (such as 1-v-1 opportunities may arise due to the patrol/flight patterns of the ships (e.g., if one ship is far from the rest of the pack), or by using battlefield environmental factors to your advantage (such as by using obscuring anomalies or large asteroids for cover)
- When engaging multiple ships is unavoidable, a common tactic is to engage the weakest ship first, in order to "thin the herd" as quickly as possible and reduce the enemy's numerical advantage
- Alternatively, if some of the enemy ships are significantly stronger than others, and your ship is able to absorb the weaker enemy's attacks, you may wish to engage the strongest enemy first
- If you are fighting alone against multiple enemies, you will likely want to "stick" with one enemy ship and continue attacking it until it is dispatched; unlike multiship combat (many-vs-many), you are unlikely to find any targets of opportunity; the enemy ship you are currently damaging will typically be the "most damaged" enemy ship because your ship is the only ship doing any damage to any of the enemy ships
- It goes without saying: try to avoid entering into one-vs-many combat; if you have backup, wait for backup before engaging the enemy; if you don't have backup, look for a way to accomplish mission objectives that does not require you to fight alone against many enemy ships
- When one-vs-many combat is unavoidable, a well-timed temporary tactical retreat will allow you to repair and rejoin the fight, thereby extending the total amount of damage you do the enemy; a series of hit-and-run alpha strikes can maximize the damage you do, while minimizing the damage you take, thereby extending your fighting ability
- Remember that your tactical officer cannot scan one ship while firing at another; plan accordingly; a good time to scan is when weapons are out of range or recycling
- Ensure your crew is familiar with the appearance of the target selection icons for captain, helm, and tactical; helm will want to track which target tactical is targeting so that helm can keep the target in the ship's firing arc; using the captain's target can help the captain communicate targets to both helm and tactical
- Be ready to tell your crew what the next target (or next maneuver) will be after the current target is dispatched; the captain should think and plan ahead so the crew can focus on completing the task at hand
- On the Aegis, you can engage one enemy ship while using system intrusion to disable the weapons of the other, effectively turning a 1-v-2 fight into a 1-v-1; if there are multiple enemies, disable the weapons of the strongest one
Comments